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Bed bugs in Toronto

Bed bugs seem to be everywhere in Toronto: residences, hospitals, hotels and libraries. Even movie theatre patrons are (notoriously) reporting outbreaks. But how did it all start? Only a few years ago, "don't let the bed bugs bite" seemed an archaic way to wish someone a restful sleep. Now, it's a legitimate concern. Read on to discover how a tiny bug became a major problem for our city.

1880s in England - 75% of homes are infested with bed bugs. Although there is no data for Toronto, the bed bug problem is likely comparable. If the current infestation is left untreated, a similar percentage of homes could become infected.

1940s and 1950s - Pesticides, in conjunction with concerted efforts on the part of governments, essentially eradicate bed bugs as a pest in Western countries.

2006 - The number of reports made to Toronto Public Health drops slightly to 147. Maciej Ceglowski, a Romanian, creates bedbugregistry.com after being bitten by bed bugs in San Francisco. Toronto is one of seven North American cities that Ceglowski includes on his site.

November 12, 2007 - Councillor Paula Fletcher argues bed bugs should be declared a "health hazard." In response, the Board of Health requests the Medical Officer of Health prepare a report on bed bugs.

March 2008 - October 2008 - 1,500 bed bug reports are made to Toronto Public Health.

November 12, 2008 - The Medical Officer of Health releases a report on the status of the infestation. The report suggests that although progress has been made, more work needs to be done to create a coordinated response. Funding to help vulnerable groups is recommended.

February 2009 - A pilot project chooses five apartment buildings, including a tower in St. James Town, to test eradication and control methods.

November 19, 2009 - Woodgreen Community Services releases its encyclopedic report on bed bugs, "Bed Bugs Are Back: Are We Ready?" Their answer is a definitive, "No." Without treatment, the report argues that bed bugs could become endemic in homes, offices, schools, movie theatres and public transit.

June 3, 2010 - MPP Mike Colle introduces the Renters Right to Know Act in the provincial parliament. If it passes, it will force all landlords to disclose to potential tenants whether or not the residence has had any problems with bed bugs in the last five years.

August 24, 2010 - MPP Mike Colle announces a bed bug summit at Queen's Park will be held on September 29. Music writer Helen Spitzer comes back from a screening of Scott Pilgrim at the Scotiabank Theatre with what looks like bed bug bites. After getting the runaround with Cineplex's phone system, she tells her friend (and Twitter user) James Rocchi about her concerns.

August 30, 2010 - James Rocchi tweets "Bad, Bad news from Toronto re: #TIFF10: Torontonian Friend got, yes, bedbugs at the Scotiabank -- aka where all press screenings are." Cameron Bailey and Cineplex fight back to ensure the resulting brouhaha does not disrupt the fest.

The future? - With no magic bullet to defeat the critters, and a still-evolving public response, the infestation looks like it is going to get worse before it gets better.

Need more information, trying to figure out whether you have bed bugs, and wondering how to get rid of them? Woodgreen Community Services has produced this helpful guide. And contact Toronto Public Health to report any bed bug problems.

Lead image from Wikimedia Commons. Second by mandrs in the blogTO Flickr pool.

Diatomaceous earth is a fine white powder, made from the ground up fossilized remains of diatoms, a kind of sea algae. The edges of each grain of powder are so sharp that they make tiny cuts in the hard exoskeleton of any insect upon contact, causing the insect to dehydrate and die within a matter of hours. Since the action is physical, insects don’t build up a resistance.

For fleas on pets pour some of the powder into your hands and rub it all over your dog or cat or gerbil or even birds (it works great for those microscopic red mites that attack the legs of pet birds). Some of the powder will fall off where the animal sleeps, killing fleas in the bedding. You might want to repeat this a few times, two or three days apart, until all fleas are gone. And again in a few weeks in case new eggs have hatched that survived the original powdering.

For bedbugs, dust the bed frame and the mattress, under the bed and around the bed, including cracks in the floor and where the wall meets the floor. You can also dust the carpet and vacuum it all up a few days later when the job is done.

For cockroaches in the kitchen, dust the floor and the cupboards, corners and cracks, under the sink, behind the stove. Even sprinkle some in the garbage can. For ants, same idea, but include window and door sills.

For silverfish, sprinkle some in the tub or shower overnight.

For slugs and snails in your flowerbeds or vegetable garden, sprinkle some diatomaceous earth around your plants and even on them. (Though still manually remove the beasties first, as diatomaceous earth is not selective, and will also kill the crickets that chirp so beautifully and the ladybugs that eat unwanted aphids. Reapply after rain.)

If you’ve got an infestation of houseflies, you can sprinkle diatomaceous earth around the windows or counters where they hang out. Mosquitoes too; if you can get them to land in it, problem solved. And I see no reason why it shouldn’t work on head lice, should your child come home inflicted. Just rub some into the scalp and repeat as needed.

Yesterday, there was a report on CP24 of Bedbugs on the Subway. A woman was bitten numerous times on the thighs. CP24 being CP24, the showed the tiny painful welts close up. The woman was crying a little.

it is possible to get rid of them. a few years back we got them and did the whole cleaning, washing, earth, borax, vacumming and so on. the point is you need to be very, very dilligent for at least a few months. the worst is if they go dormant - they can apparently live up to a year without blood. the problem with these apartment buildings is that not everyone is dilligent enough, so they just move from apartment to apartment. you can get rid of them, but they come back from someone else's apartment. also, when you are throwing things (as you should) they need to be sealed. if you just drag them to elevator and then outside you are going to leave hundreds of them. just more dilligance that's all.

although bed bugs are not selective based on the toronto star map you see that more of them are reported in crapier parts of the city. having seen how people live there i am not surprised - junk overflowing from balconies. while the bed bugs have nothing to do with cleanness and neatness of the place having a clean and neat place makes it much, much easier to kill them.

good thing i don't take subway anymore. you can get all sorts of things from there - not only bed bugs.

it will be interesting to see what happens for TIFF. I am keeping alert and will be careful when i get back home.

Heat does kill bedbugs. If you leave your car out in the heat of summer with the windows closed, the heat will over over 43° easily. Give them 20 to 30 minutes and they're dead.

Same with the subway trains, streetcars, and buses. IF they are left outdoors on a hot summer day with the engines off, A/C off, and windows closed. Usually, the time out of service between the rush hours, or weekends, is enough. If they are inside the carhouse or garages, then they would not get above 43°. But if the vehicles are rotated in and out of service outdoors, that should do the job.

So you are incorrect about bed bugs on the subway, but still they could be on your fellow human's clothing in waiting rooms, emergency rooms, your friend's place, etc..

Bed bugs are here to stay, at least for a while. I think most people will have a run-in with them. It doesn't have to be a nightmare, or cost a lot of money. A few coping mechanisms:
- regular and thorough house cleaning, especially vacuuming at least once a week (make sure to get baseboards and electrical outlets)
- keep bedroom really minimal, and buy bug-proof mattress & box-spring covers
- minimize clutter throughout your home (which is a great opportunity to get rid of stuff you really don't need anyway)
- call a pest-control company, preferably one that uses more natural methods like steam and diatomaceous earth treatments
- don't worry too much, they are just little bugs and we have to share this earth with them sometimes. Try to focus on some relaxing activities while you go through this, and if you can, keep a sense of humour about it.

Brad, your cheery little comment is in stark contrast to those who are actually dealing with the things. Don't worry too much? Are you for real? I've read many a 'bed bug blog' written by people dealing with the problem, which they describe as a 'nightmare' and 'absolute hell'. I don't think they're being facetious. Your 'tips' are laughable.

The fact they let the dogs out (woof) to detect for infestations in the rooms of G20 delegates should be indicative of how big this problem has become and how seriously it should be tackled. This is not the time - nor the place - for a 'sense of humour'.

You shouldn't assume that if someone has bed bugs -- even if they technically "brought them in" to the apartment -- that they did something like picking up used furniture on the street. Out of all the people who have bedbugs in Toronto, a small percentage probably got them from bringing home used furniture or clothing. You can pick them up at a restaurant or a movie theatre... can't be blamed for that.

I feel bad for landlords because it's a huge challenge for them. However, too many landlords neglect to recognize how serious a problem bed bugs are. Bedbugregistry is filled with reports from people who say their landlords lie about the extent of infestations in the building, refuse to pay for treatments even if they're legally obligated to, or hire a fly-by-night amateur exterminator who does a quick spray, suggesting that because a unit was sprayed everything is now fine.

i know its sour grapes at this point, but how great would it have been if harper had blown all that g20 money on getting rid of bed bugs instead? In fact if he did blow that much money on this i would actually vote conservative. Thats how much i dont want these things in my house

@ Aaron - hey Aaron, you can choose to let these bugs rule you...or you can be lighter about it and not let your life be highjacked by some bugs. That's all. It's annoying and a nuisance for sure, but it's not the end of the world. That's all I'm saying.

i dont think there is anything cheery about not being able to sleep in your own bed. and if you sleep in another room the bugs find you based on the temperature of your blood. these things find you. a friend of mine had it and she was going through absolute torment and lack of sleep for weeks because she always felt like they were crawling on her. she eventually got rid of it. but its not like something to be anywhere near happy about.

Ok, this is my last response...but come on people. When you are faced with adversity in life, whether it be bed bugs, or whatever, you have a choice: you can become overtaken by it, or you can step back, deal with the problem while trying to stay balanced and positive.

I'm calling for the overinflated panic to settle down, and for people to breath, try to keep a sense of humour, and not worry too much - with time and patience you can deal with bedbugs. I'm offering optimism that's all.

one of the main problems is the lack of correct info online. half of what's wrote on blogs and forums is rubbish. i visited a lady today who was convinced she had bed bugs. she had wasted days and days reasearing bed bugs and thought she knew it all. The samples she had collected to show me were carpet beetles, spiders, bits of fluff etc, not a trace of bed bugs.

A dog isn't going to find bedbugs in a theater where the stench of years of popcorn and coke is caked into the carpet and fabrics.

And the bugs would have made their way deep into the seats, so unless the theater disassembled all the seats (which they likely couldn't have done in the limited time they had available) they just had a pointless cursory inspection by a dog of a gigantic theatre which is more to placate the press than it is an effective way to detect and treat bedbugs.

Its all a show. Bedbugs are likely in the theaters, but they're likely in the TTC too just because so many people pass through there everyday.

Also bedbugs don't usually dislodge until you've stopped moving and its dark. They have eyes and they don't usually operate in the light. The theatre is a prime place for bedbugs to be found.

1. Buy 3 cans of bed bug spray (you really need that)
2. Spray your mattress
3. Seal your mattress with thick plastic mattress cover
(must NOT have any holes, otherwise they can get in and bit you again)
4. Find the bed bugs in your bed frame and kill them
5. Spray your bed frame every day for at least 1 week

6. Wash your bed sheets and blankets with HOT water
7. Wash all your clothes with HOT water
8. Dry your clothes in heater (heat can kill bed bugs)
9. After cleaning, put your cloths in a plastic bag with air zip
10. Put your bags of cloths in the middle of your house

These are just the basic steps, bed bugs can still hide in the holes and cracks of your wall.

Bed bug infestations definitely seem to be on the rise. I live in Arizona and we are having problems with them as well. I found some helpful <a href="http://www.localpestcontrolservices.com/pest_control_blog/arizona-pest-control/bed_bug_prevention_tips/&quot;>bed bug prevention tips</a> online that I've been using, I really do not want bed bugs getting into my home. I hear they are an absolute mess to deal with and they say heat kills them, but they are surviving the Arizona heat so that makes me nervous that they are a bug to be reckoned with.

I live in 98 Vaughan Rd Toronto.
This building is horrible place infested in all kind bugs, especially bed bugs. The ladlord doesn't care about the tenants. He treats the building once a month and uses amonia to kill bugs.
I realized this problem the first day I moved in and when I told him he said that I might have brought them with me.
Saty away of this place.

I, unfortunately, was diagnosed with a serious health issue, and as such needed to take quite sometime to get this under control, as mandated by my doctor. I had to leave my job, and as a consequence could not afford to pay my rent anymore. That led me to Mary's Emergency Shelter in Toronto at 70 Gerrard Street East. After being there for approx. 2 months, I started to recieve the odd bite here and there. Not thinking too much about it, (I've seen spiders in the room, and being summer, it could have been mosquitos), I did not complain to staff. The bites were exactly like the ones posted on your website, and were so itchy...they left scars. I have heard of bed bugs, but hey Mary's home can't be infested as once a month they have exterminators in for routine maintenance, and inspection, just incase.

When I spotted a bug approx. 1 month ago, I had no idea what is was. I tried to kill it, but it took a few "beatings" with my shoe to do it in. Again, not knowing exactly what I was dealing with, I just flushed the critter down the toilet. Then, lo and behold, it was time for the routine extermination, and inspection day. All shelter residence had to leave for the better part of the day, while they supposably "sprayed". I stayed behind in my room to to see exactly what went on once a month. What went on? Absolutely nothing. Nada. The staff sat around talking about all the residences, laughing, eating; you get the picture. I always suspected that the day of extermination was a farce, but I had to find out for my self. Shortly thereafter, a new resident complained that she was being bitten by bed bugs. Staff found a way to discharge her from the premises, blaming her for getting the bites elsewhere. Again, no extermination done. Having said all that, I had an overnight at a friends house at the time that I had been bitten. And I feel so badly that I could have brought one into thier home. I am stressed. I have since left the shelter, and I reside with the said friend. I left all my belongings behind at the shelter. Everything. And when you do not own much, it is a little disheartening. However, since i found your website and educated myself,(thank you), I am happy that I left everything! I told my friend what I experienced ie. the bites, the bug, your website, and he is not too worried. He feels that we should have been bitten by now. I am happy to state, that I haven't been bitten since I left the shelter, but I still worry. All his furniture is wood, and he lives in a split basment, freestanding home. The basement is full of wood beams. I inspected his mattress, and knock on wood (pun intended), nothing thus far. It has been approx. 2 weeks since I left the shelter and moved in to his home. I know that we are not out of the woods yet, (pun intended again *Nervously laughs).

Please be warry if you are sent to Mary's Home Emergency Shelter, Toronto ON; I am sure they are infested, and are turning a blind eye.

Kudos Blogto! This is a very nice chronological breakdown of bed bugs in Toronto. It is refreshing to see that your post mentions the DDT hypothesis for the bed bug comeback, but that it also mentions the growing resistance the bugs had been making even prior to it banning. Keep up the good work and do not let up on this story.

AquaDrop™ is a non-toxic organic insecticide that is a safe alternative to harsh chemicals. It is applied by sprinkling into crevices where bugs hide and on common pathways. AquaDrop can be vacuumed without causing damage. It is composed of tiny fossil shells that remove lipids from the exoskeleton of pests causing them to dehydrate.

Bed bugs are repeatedly known to be highly susceptible to SUDDEN temp changes, mainly cool or normal to hot hot hot. Ambient temperature won't work because they have time to dissipate to a cooler place to get away from the heat and get used to it. 120 is the key temp, you can get a packtite. Some things can also be baked in the oven too or put into a hot dryer for some time.
Cold temps they seem to handle with greater ease as some researchers have tested freezing the bugs for specific periods of time when the temp remained consistently cold and yet they thawed out and came to after.
It has to be a really sudden and downright cold temp to work on them. Pros use Cyronite or rapid freeze though I question how well this works.
Steam is your best friend. Large nozzle, dry vapour, no less then 240 where the steam comes out.

A bed bug problem can be very complex, it should be left to a professional exterminator. Do it yourself kits are sold by some extermination companies in Toronto. These are a waste of money as the products alone are poor and application is critical for success. In addition heat is the most effective treatment available, if your not using it you will likely fail.

This post is full of misinformation, whoever is moderating this site should remove it. The bed bug dogs have $14000 worth of training and are remarkable. I highly recommend and endorse bed bug use. visit www.mdpestcontrol.ca for more details on bed bug detection dogs and their effectiveness.

The posts from MDPest should be removed as spam! He's only trying to drum up business for himself. Shame on you! Anyone reading his posts should wonder...If he's doing this here, what kind of job will he do for you?! It's down right deceiving!

Bed Bugs are not to be taken lightly! I had them 4yrs ago and it was a living nightmare. I work part-time in healthcare and recently saw a few in a ladies home. Reported it to my boss, and they said they would inform the family. They said they would have an inspection done - but when the agency called to say it's a go to enter to the ladies home, I replied and said did you see a copy of the pest control clearance? They replied "no" I refused to go back to this home, because the agency couldn't ensure it was safe. For those of you that want more info - do your research first. Always remember to get your place fumigated twice. And please make sure your not in my position with a company that doesn't care about their workers. Move on!

Accurate bed bug inspections in places such as movie theaters are routinely carried out throughout Toronto using specially trained K-9 bed bug detection teams. Using a bed bug dog is simply the best, most accurate and cost effective way to detect bed bugs in large areas and complex public environments including hospitals, multi-unit apartment buildings and other settings that require accurate and discreet bed bug detection.

A properly trained and certified bed bug dog team can provide an answer to a bed bug question quickly and with close to 100% certainty.

I know before moving into my 85 Wellesley St E apartment all of my furniture and clothing were in AWESOME shape. Now since my landlord decided to ignore my complaint I lost my entire bed, 2 dressers and $500 in clothing (and we are a professional couple with fantastic clothes and not cheap)

I started a blog to help get the message out and I encourage people to visit and leave their comments and if you have content or pictures to add let me know and I will certainly make it into a new post. Email is: ipcpardons@hotmail.com

I am currently in recovery mode from a sudden infestation at my home. I had well over 100 bites on my arms, hand, elbos, feet, knees, back, and buttocks. My girlfriend had about a dozen. I had begun to think li was allergic to a cleaner we were using because one day I became intensely itchy. At this time there were no bites, then about a week later bumps started showing up all over, and they didn't just itch, it was a burning itch, impossible not to scratch, the only solution, hot water from the shower head. Amazing. Anyways the exterminator was $600, the mattresses encasements were another $300, we through out our dressers, tv, entrainment unit, and on top of it, I developed a "sever ellergic hypersensitivityto the bites toxin" I am on 4 prescriptions, one of them a spray, to curb the itching, and intense RASH I developed, yes, RASH... On all the body parts I mentioned. I've been off work for a week, and I might be off for another.... Go check your bed right now, it might change your life.

There are many ways to get rid of bed bugs... The thing is that not all infestation is the same and not all ways work. The problem is still going on in Toronto with more infestations being realized every day. If you think you have them then you should confirm this before you shell out a fortune on an exterminator. This is a good article about bed bug signs: http://www.pestcontroltoronto.com/bed-bug-signs-detecting-bed-bugs/

Hello there! This post could not be written any better! Going through this article reminds me of my previous roommate!
He constantly kept preaching about this. I am going to send
this post to him. Pretty sure he'll have a great read. I appreciate you for sharing!

If you have a Bed Bug Infestation, the only effective treatment would be to hire a specialist. Environmental Pest Control was the first company in Canada to utilize the K-9 Detection Dog and has a fantastic track record for Bed Bug eradication. They utilize only safe products for the removal of Bed Bugs such as Thermal Heating, Cryonite (Freezing), and approved sprays for the removal and possible future infestation.

I have bed bugs too now, for the first time.
2 questions -
a/ some have recommended sealing my mattress in a thick plastic cover. where do i get these from? i've gotten quotes of like $600-$150. is it really that expensive?
b/ how much do professionals cost? i've gotten $450-$1000. i cant imagine it has to be THAT expensive.

I like the valuable information yoou provide in your articles.
I willl bookmark your blog and check again here frequently.
I am quite certain I'll learn plenty of new stuff right here!
Good luck for the next!

What a total nightmare. My family home has been sprayed once. This appeared useless as I had never seen them in my room before. I now am being bitten and have seen a couple in different rooms. My home is a 3 story single family home. We are going to try heat treatment but I'm not overly optimistic. The bugs are affecting my sleep and I'm so desperate. This has just been devastating and came at the worst possible time.

Bed bugs are becoming an increasingly difficult pest to treat, without absolute compliance from the clients with regards to preparation of their home prior to treatment and between treatments, heat treatments seem to be the only sure thing. We at Avid pest services in Hamilton Ontario Canada have come to the conclusion that in many cases the standard two chemical treatments 11-14 days apart in conjunction with the vacuum , steam, and laundry is not working at a high success rate due to an increasing pesticide resistance, 3 treatments 7-10 days apart combined with preparation seems to have the higher success rate but still getting costly and priced very close to heat treating. We are now combining thermal heat treatments with chemical treatments at a very high success rate, in many cases apartments still require follow up chemical treatments but the initial heat treat gives a 99 percent kill of eggs and adult bugs. The heat advantage is first treatment day relief for the homeowner. We have brought the high pricing of thermal treatments down drastically with the use of several different technologies, combining both the use of high temperature electric heaters as well as clean air forced air heaters which give the space a positive pressure pushing the heat deeper into cracks and wall voids. This is the advantage over a closed air system such as liquid glycol heaters or an entire electric system. We dont promise you the bed bugs are gone on the first day, no company can make that claim. We do promise you we'll come back and chemically treat until they are gone on unattached homes, on apartments or attached homes we will include up to 3 follow ups maximum, if there is a problem after that its a problem from a neighbouring attached unit. Communication with neighbours in attached homes is important because they may need treatment as well.

I suspected that I have bed bugs. I called Bed Bugs and Beyond, and was blown away by their bed bug detection dog. If you not 100% sure, there is no better way to find out! As for the treatment, they didnt used any chemicals, and removed all the bedbugs by heat treatment.

i got horrible experience,i just move to a new apartment i dont know that its manifested with bedbug.it cause me alot if trouble,itchy all over my body and worst the bugs bite me on my eye the make swollen for a week.

I live downtown and we had bedbugs. Found a company call Wallop Services in Toronto, they did the job right. Best cleaning company for apt, condos or even post construction cleaning. Did you know bed bugs hide in the walls? Wallop Services got them to!

Why pay a pricey bill to eliminate these Bugs?? Try the Bed bugs 101 Products. It not only will detect the bugs, But!! it will also trap and kill them, and the best thing about this product; it's all natural and will last up to 6 months. Bedbugs are spreading world wide and are becoming a real problem, for people that travel, Vacation Rental companies, Firehouse's and other well travel areas. These bugs can live under picture frames, beds, and other types of furniture, They thrive on heat and carbon dioxcide.. So!! Why not give this product a try; and for the fraction of the cost of having to hire an exterminator. What do you have to loose? For more information and prices!! SEND US A MESSAGE and explain what type of issue you are having with the Bed Bug's..OR CALL 8652027744

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